If you were browsing the internet at all this past weekend, there's a good chance you came across Google's ubiquitous logo at some point during your travels. What you didn't notice, however, is the fact that Google adjusted the letters in its logo ever so slightly—and it actually makes a pretty huge difference.

Advertisement

As any good design nerd knows, lazy kerning can be the source of a major headache. And nothing feels better than seeing those letters pushed, pixel by pixel, into their proper place. In Google's case the bottom of the"l" and "e" didn't quite lineup, and as redditor nal1200 noted, "[That] must have driven some design employee crazy." To fix it, Google moved the "g" one pixel to the right and the "l" one pixel down and to the right.

A Google logo-adjustment isn't unprecedented, though. The Reddit thread that first noticed the kerning adjustment also points out that you can check out the logo's evolution by changing the number at the end of its url. Starting with its most current:

And if you're still doubting the importance of proper kerning, just do a Google search for the word "kerning" itself and try telling us that what you see doesn't drive you mad. Each appearance of the search term is just that much off, kerning-wise.

Because whether or not your realize it on a conscious level, proper spacing really can make a big difference on how clean and finished your lettering looks—and perfecting it certainly isn't an easy task. After all, even Google is still trying to get it right. [Reddit via Daily Dot]

Advertisement

Update 6:18pm:

A Google spokesperson provided Gizmodo with the following statement:

Advertisement

Sponsored

Great to see people notice and appreciate even single-pixel changes — we tweaked the logo a little while ago to make sure it looks its sharpest regardless of your screen resolution.